A lawyer has requested that the Nigeria Bar Association’s (NBA) Bauchi branch leadership step in to address the recent nomination of five High Court judges and five Kadis of the state’s Sharia Court of Appeal.
“I am writing to express my dismay regarding the recent Judicial Service Commission Bauchi meeting that concluded on November 23, 2023, regarding the appointment of five judges to the High Court and five Kadis to the Sharia Court of Appeal in Bauchi State, respectively.”
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“The public’s perception of the shortlisted nominees has been alarmed by their names, and the administration of justice in our beloved state of Bauchi has been the target of mockery.”
Despite difficulties during the entire process, Alkassim pointed out that the candidates for the position of judges on the High Court of Bauchi were all well-regarded solicitors in the legal community.
“But the Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal, Bauchi who were successfully nominated further brought to my notice the obvious division of lawyers in that position,” he stated.
“I am positive that a significant number of indigenous lawyers from Bauchi submitted applications for that regalia. To my dismay, only two of the applicants’ lawyers were included in the preferred list; the remaining lawyers were placed on the reserved list, and other applications were entirely turned down.”
The attorney urged the state’s NBA leadership to step in and guarantee that justice was served.
It is important to remember that if this kind of behaviour is permitted, attorneys serving as Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal in Bauchi State will eventually vanish from existence.
He asked the NBA to publicly speak on behalf of the impacted applicants and attorneys.
He said, “Your excellent voice will further reestablish our confidence in your management of the Branchi.”
The attorney encouraged the NBA leadership to demand the procedures and guidelines used in compiling the list of successful candidates, as well as the biographies of all applicants and candidates and the identities of attorneys who submitted applications to serve as Kadis of the Sharia court of appeal.
